Sewri-Nhava Sheva sea bridge rallies on

MTHL will connect South Mumbai to Navi Mumbai in 20 minutes, as compared to the current travel time of 120 minutes

What can be termed as another milestone towards the completion of the longest sea bridge in the country, which will connect Sewri with Nhava Sheva, the longest Orthotropic Steel Deck (OSD), measuring 180 meters and weighing 2,500 metric tonnes, was successfully launched on Saturday.

MMRDA tweeted, "MTHL Milestone. The one big Thing #MTHL. The longest Orthotropic Steel Deck (OSD) span launched successfully. Span length 180 Meters and Weight 2,500 Metric Tonnes." Metropolitan Commissioner SVR Srinivas congratulated the team as it was yet another milestone in the week for MMRDA's MTHL project.

The Orthotropic Steel Deck is a steel deck superstructure, strengthened or stiffened both transversely and longitudinally, which will improve the load-carrying capacity of the bridge as compared to a concrete superstructure.

According to the MMRDA, OSD is the ideal solution considering MTHL site conditions (navigational channels, discharge channels) and longer pier-to-pier distances. It is also more cost-effective compared to the cable stay or suspension bridges.

The steel spans are fabricated in fabrication workshop facilities located in Japan, Vietnam, and Taiwan, and delivered to India, which enables faster construction work and and lessens deck-related on-site activities.

The Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, also known as the Sewri Nhava Sheva Harbour Link is a six-lane under-construction bridge over the sea with a 5.5 km long viaduct on land on either side. The link has interchanges at Sewri in Central Mumbai, Shivaji Nagar at Mumbai Bay and NH-4 B at Chirle, Navi Mumbai.

The MTHL will feature approach sections, interchanges, intelligence transport system (ITS) and other amenities required for a sea bridge. The traffic conditions on the stretch will be monitored and managed from the Traffic Control Centre with the help of CCTV cameras.

The total of length of spans of the OSD superstructure in both carriageways of MTHL is about 6.41 km. The width of the steel superstructure is about 14.92m for each carriageway. The total steel quantity to be used for the OSD superstructure in MTHL will be about 87,452 MT. MTHL will connect South Mumbai to Navi Mumbai in 20 minutes as compared to the current travel time of 120 minutes.

Besides connectivity, it has also been identified as the important infrastructure to continue economic development in Mumbai Metropolitan Region. About 65 per cent of the project, which is estimated to cost Rs 17,843 crores, has been done. The project is expected to be completed by 2023.

87,452 MT
Total quantity of steel being used to build the structure